The Oxford Companion to the Bible.

• Author: Cooper, Alan

Edited by BRUCE M. METZGER and MICHAEL D. COOGAN. New York: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1993. Pp. xxi + 874, 14 maps and 7 pages of map indices. $45.

With the publication of this volume, the Bible joins such subjects as Australian children's literature, popular music, chess, animal behavior, and decorative arts as the beneficiary of Oxford's companionship. The volume under review comprises more than seven hundred signed articles by about two hundred fifty contributors. The articles fall under six rubrics, which are designated by the editors as follows (pp. vii-viii): The Formation of the Bible; The Transmission, Diffusion, and Circulation of the Bible; The Biblical World; Biblical Concepts; The Interpretation of the Bible; and The Uses and Influences of the Bible. The editors intend the work to be more comprehensive than "the usual Bible dictionary" (they are no more specific than that) "in its sustained and systematic attention to the role the Bible has played in the ongoing life of various communities of faith, and in the development of the civilizations for which biblical traditions are in part formative" (p. vii).

By and large, the inquisitive laypersons to whom this book is directed should find it both informative and entertaining. Most readers will consult it for information about biblical books, characters, places, institutions, and themes, and the Companion supplies such information in abundance. Scholars will naturally find errors of omission, commission, and interpretation in their areas of specialization, but will have to acknowledge that most of the articles are judicious and reliable. The articles on the books of the Bible, for example, are by such distinguished scholars as R. E. Clements (Deuteronomy), J. E A. Sawyer (Isaiah), D. J. A. Clines (Job), C. A. Moore (Tobit), J. Fitzmyer (Luke), and P. Achtemeier (Romans). The articles on biblical places are similarly authoritative, and they are keyed to fourteen excellent, well-indexed maps (based on those in the Oxford Bible Atlas) that are appended to the volume. The thematic articles are more variable in quality, but some are outstanding; the article on "Translations," for example (pp. 749-78), is the best short survey of that topic that I have ever read.

The editors have not shied away from timely and controversial topics. Contributions in these areas, despite their inevitable brevity, are usually serious and stimulating (such as "African American Traditions and the Bible,"...